Former Labor minister Craig Emerson tasked with review amid claims of supermarket profiteering

A Victorian zucchini farmer says he’s shocked by the prices his crop is being sold for at the big supermarkets.

A furious Victorian zucchini farmer has slammed the big supermarket chains claiming he’s never seen retail prices as high for his harvest.

Ross Marsolino told Sky News he sold his crop for just $2.20 a kilo – but he’s seen them on the shelves for $1.83 each or $6.90 a kilo.

“Since when do you sell a zucchini by each at $1.38?” he questioned.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Both Coles and Woolworths returned profits that exceeded $1bn last financial year.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has put the supermarket giants on notice, warning government intervention could be considered if they do not pass lower prices onto consumers.

Farmer Ross Marsolino is furious at the big supermarket chains.

Former Labor minister Craig Emerson has been appointed to lead a review of the food and grocery code as the government seeks to put the cost-of-living crisis squarely in focus.

“No other government before us has done anything about this … We are prepared to take action,” Mr Albanese said on Wednesday.

“What we want to make sure is that when the big supermarket chains get goods cheaper off our farmers, then those costs are relayed onto consumers.

“But we’re indicating as the government that we’re prepared to examine mandating (the code) and what further action may be required.”

Currently, the code is voluntary and it governs how Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and Metcash (which owns IGA) interact with supplies and customers.

A review of the code was announced last year but 100 days later a reviewer had not been appointed, sparking condemnation from Nationals leader David Littleproud.

“They have been caught asleep at the wheel,” he said.

Craig Emerson (left) has been appointed to head the review after the position was vacant for almost 100 days. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

But Mr Albanese claimed Dr Emerson had been working on the review for some time and the announcement of his appointment was delayed simply due to the holiday period.

The decision to appoint Dr Emerson was made a while ago … (he) has been already undertaking the work,” the Prime Minister said.

Food inflation has eased in recent quarters, decelerating to 4.8 per cent in the year to September, down from its 9.2 per cent peak in December 2022.

The government said it is prepared to use “all available levers” to ensure lower costs for consumers.

National Farmers’ Federation president David Jochinke said the code had been failing farmers and that it should be revamped to be given teeth.

“We need to get to the bottom of why there’s a growing gap between what farmers get paid and what produce is being sold for on supermarket shelves,” he said.

The Prime Minister said he expected reduced costs for businesses flow through to consumer prices. Photo by: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

“It’s not just supermarkets we need answers from, we need to know who else in the supply chain is clipping the ticket and sending food prices skywards.”

Dr Emerson, who previously served as competition, trade and small business minister in the Rudd-Gillard government.

He was previously appointed in 2022 to head a federal review into the payment times reporting scheme, which required large businesses to disclose the time they took to pay smaller firms.

A separate Senate inquiry, established by the Greens, is also set to probe allegations of price gouging by the major supermarkets.

Mr Jochinke said while these announcements were a positive step, there was still a long way to go to fix Australia’s competition issues.

“We don’t want the government to be distracted from pursuing immediate reform to competition laws more broadly – for instance looking at unfair trading practices or merger laws that have led to these competition issues in the first place,” he said.